The official blog & podcast of NRPA

Thanks to great efforts on Capitol Hill and local advocacy efforts from out-of-school time (OST) providers like yourself all summer long, congress voted just last week to restore the funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Center program.

The recent natural disasters – from Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria to wildfires, earthquakes, power outages and more – have brought devastation to millions of people. Within every disaster though, bright lights appear. Many of these bright lights are our public service employees – park and recreation employees among them.

There are many important and valuable research articles published each year related to parks and recreation. NRPA contracted with North Carolina State University’s Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management Department to review recently published papers focused on park and recreation’s role in conservation and resiliency.

The Wednesday Keynote for the NRPA Annual Conference in New Orleans, Jessica Pettitt, shares how we can start having conversations that matter by (re)claiming our responsibility for who and how we show up in our relationships.

Michael J. Kalvort, CPRE, Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Virginia Beach, shares how staying on top of park and recreation trends allows him and his department to best serve their community.

In June, NRPA partnered with the Citi Foundation to host Global Community Day service projects at local park and recreation agencies in nine cities across the country. Citi employees, their family members and community volunteers participated in park maintenance/beautification, and other projects that helped revitalize local park spaces.

Nearly one in three older adults suffer from arthritis. Learn how NRPA, with the support of the CDC, is disseminating and increasing sustainable supports for evidence-based physical activity programs designed to help people with arthritis.

Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC) participated in a park champion event in Mt. Airy, NC where the importance of USDA meal programs — and parks and recreation's role in providing meals to youth — was demonstrated.